Labrador Retriever Colors

There
are only THREE colors recognized by the AKC: CHOCOLATE, YELLOW
& BLACK however, two RARE colors have been able to be produced
from
the Yellow & Black: FOX RED & SILVER.

The Fox Red is CLASSIFIED AS YELLOW (as the
deepest degree).

The Silver is CLASSIFIED IN EITHER THE CHOCOLATE OR YELLOW

They are both rare and hard to get. AKC does
not regard
highly the color SILVER; it had been thought there was a mix of breed
in order to get the silver.

Note
that some breeder's will discredit the Fox Red Color if it is
not
the deep Fox Red; this is FALSE.

ALL
VARIED COLORS WITHIN THE RED SPECTRUM ARE FOX RED, COLOR DOES NOT FULLY
MATURE UNTIL AROUND 20-24 MONTHS OF AGE, and it is difficult to
determine as pups. Most pups that are Fox Red color, fade within the
first week, then deepen, then fade again and so on. This is because of
the the losing of the baby hair ongoing until they reach adult hood
with their adult coat, hence the reason why their full color does not
completely intensify until FULL maturity. The same can be the case for
Chocolates; the color CAN change from light-to-dark
until
they have gained their adult coat.

I recently ran across
a web site regarding fox red and cream color labs. This particular
breeder claims that these two colors that are in the yellow spectrum
are not rare; that they're just normal varying shades of yellow. The
claim goes on to state that ads are preying on the unsuspecting public;
don't fall for it.

Awareness is everything. Fox
Red and Cream color Labradors are in fact rare. They are difficult to
get in litters that seem to have the promising matching make up of the
sire and the dam.

They are in the classification as Yellow; that
doesn't change how rare they are. Unfortunately, there are some
breeders who will stop at nothing for marketing purposes.

I
have been breeding Fox Red Labrador Retrievers for more than 6 years; trying to get
them for more than 16; have produced only 1 cream (white) colored lab
in the process.

Fox Red color Labs do deepen in color as they mature; their full degree of red is not seen until 18-24 months of age.